8th Grade Units for Study

Genetics-  Do you have freckles?  Can you roll your tongue?  How about dimples?  These are the traits that you acquired from your parents and you will pass along to your children.  How does this happen?  We will study the amazing world of GENETCS to find the answers.  Get ready to spool DNA from chicken liver and make candy DNA models!

Hydrosphere-   Where is all the water on Earth located?  What are our fresh water resources?  What does it mean if we see lots of beautiful, green algae floating in a pond? Why are North Carolina estuaries so important to aquatic and terrestrial organisms?  Get ready to put your old tennis shoes on because we will be walking to our local water resources and taking samples of water and organisms to test, measure and analyze for water quality.  Brine shrimp (Sea Monkeys) will be placing their lives in your hands during one of our laboratory investigations!

Organisms and Landforms, Changing over Time-  Atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere have all changed over the history of the Earth.  We will observe patterns and determine what changes have taken place from the Paleozoic Era to the Cenozoic Era.  We will be weathering rocks, studying fossils and investigating the disappearing sea (Aral Sea).

Cells, Cell Theory, and Microbiology-  Yippee!  We get to look through microscopes again!  We will be reviewing cell theory, the cell parts and mitosis.  We will also be able to observe some more cool Protist!  The new and exciting adventure will be microbiology!  We will get to learn about diseases from viruses, bacteria, parasites, contagions, and mutagens.  Would you eat bioengineered rice?  How about genetically altered corn?  This unit will defiantly make you support your ideas!

Chemistry-  What happens when you place Mentos in Coke?  Why happens when we mix Alka-Seltzer, water in a closed container? WHY did we get these REALLY cool reactions?  What is the difference between an atom and a molecule? This is all about the ELEMENTS!  This unit is going to be so exciting!  Chemistry pulls all of science together.  Living and nonliving all have atoms in common.  We will understand haw atoms bond, what they can bond with and what type of reactions happens when we bond atoms together.